PROJECT ABSTRACT The Society of Behavioral Medicine (SBM) will hold its 39th Annual Meeting & Scientific Sessions from April 11- 14, 2018, in New Orleans, LA. This application seeks funding in support of meeting programming that addresses the following specific aims: (1) to train attendees in the skills necessary to translate behavioral medicine research to diverse audiences, maximizing behavioral medicine?s reach and impact, and improving individual and population health; and (2) to broaden the impact of behavioral medicine research and practice?and to enhance the diversity of behavioral medicine professionals?by providing mentoring and professional development to trainees, junior faculty, clinicians, researchers, and others who attend the meeting. SBM is the nation?s leading scientific society dedicated to behavioral medicine, representing approximately 2,400 behavioral and biomedical researchers and clinicians from more than 20 disciplines. Behavioral medicine is an interdisciplinary field comprised of researchers, practitioners, educators, and policymakers who focus on the development and integration of behavioral, psychosocial, and biomedical theory, knowledge, and interventions relevant to the understanding of health and illness. Behavioral medicine professionals include psychologists, physicians, nurses, epidemiologists, nutritionists, exercise scientists, biostatisticians, and public health experts. They work to understand, prevent, and treat chronic diseases such as cardiovascular diseases, respiratory diseases, diabetes, and cancer. In short, they improve health by helping people change their behaviors. This improves quality of life and reduces healthcare costs. SBM?s annual meetings are the premier forum for behavioral medicine?s most important ideas and breakthrough findings. The meeting?s educational sessions, formal networking events, and informal networking forums promote the sharing of attendee knowledge in an open, collegial way. This stimulates new thinking that can lead to scientific innovations. Attendees apply the knowledge gained to the prevention and management of diseases, and the creation of innovative research designs, effective clinical interventions, and evidence-based health policies. SBM meetings feature high-impact keynote speakers and master lecturers who present topics such as ?Advancing Health Equity? (Edward Ehlinger, MD, MSPH, 2015), ?The Role of School Nutrition in Children's Health and Well-Being? (Jessica Donze Black, RD, MPH, 2016), and ?Building Healthy Communities? (Robert Ross, MD, 2017). The 2018 SBM Annual Meeting will be attended by an estimated 2,100 individuals from the United States and abroad, and will feature more than 1,400 presentations. The meeting theme is ?Extending Our Reach. The meeting will encourage attendees to venture outside of their academic and clinical comfort zones by connecting directly with community organizations, industry partners, government agencies, the media, and the general public. Most of our country's most daunting health challenges have behavioral origins, which makes this sort of outreach?and achieving SBM?s vision of ?better health through behavior change??more important than ever.